


Oblivious

by SilentSpades



Category: Young Justice, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3721123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentSpades/pseuds/SilentSpades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Puberty is being very generous to one Boy Wonder and Dick, the troll that he is, makes a game out of it. Unfortunately, the one person he wants to notice the most remains indifferent and it’s driving him mad. It doesn’t help that he’s started developing feelings for said ignoramus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Game

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello guys, it's me again. So I've decided to dig my own grave via a new story, a multi-chaptered story. Problem is, I haven't written out the general outline of this fic, so updates will probably come and go depending on my lazy-ass brain. I do have a general idea of what's going to happen so let's just hope that this doesn't get kicked off to the Hiatus bootcamp XD On the plus side, I have two updates right at the beginning, so I do hope you enjoy. As usual, reviews, kudos, bookmarks are most certainly welcome ^^
> 
> Things of note: Wally doesn't know Dick's secret identity here
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything ._.

It began as a game of sorts.

In the sixteen years of his existence, Dick Grayson never thought himself vain. The acrobat knew he was no ugly duckling but that was it. He didn't spend every waking moment fussing over his appearance or checking every minor detail in front of a mirror. If he were to make a guess-timate, he'd say, at the risk of sounding slightly narcissistic, that he inherited a good set of genes. Ones which set him above average in the looks department. John and Mary Grayson had both been beautiful people, not only in appearance but also, character.

Beauty was such a subjective term, but the Boy Wonder was in the company of a diverse group of good-looking people from whom he could evaluate himself. Bruce Wayne was handsome in that austere and brooding fashion of his. His adoptive father had looks that could and had stopped onlookers. Babs was also a beauty. The young miss Gordon had striking features that matched her quick wit. Miss M was pretty in that classic girl-next-door kind of way and Artemis' mixed parentage gifted her with mysterious exoticness. Zee was a dead ringer for a long-haired Snow White with a mischievous streak. Conner had that whole bad-boy-pouty-face thing going and Kaldur looked every bit respectable and gentlemanly. Even Wally was attractive—in a dorky kind of way. That list didn't even include the likes of Superman, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, and so on so forth. In fact, the majority of his family, friends and associates were within the spectrum of visually appealing. It sort of made him wonder whether or not there was some sort of higher power at play.

But anyways, despite having a plethora of people to whom he could compare himself to, Dick had done no such thing. He just didn't put much stock into his appearance. He was a circus brat at heart and the limits to his narcissism were perfectly executed flips and somersaults. Besides, there were more important matters to attend to and for the most part, people were indifferent.

But then came puberty.

All of a sudden, it was as if he had his own personal spotlight. As a former-performer and a current-vigilante, the Boy Wonder was used to attention, but the looks and comments thrown his way were of a very different variety. The kind he had zero experience in, and chalked up to his relation to Bruce Wayne and his nearing bachelorhood. After all, Gotham was filled with money-grubbing social climbers. So Robin shrugged off the attention with offhand humility and careful evasions. He would've continued on in ignorant disbelieving bliss but then Artemis just had to be her regular teenage girl self.

The not-so-subtle looks from the archer had a way of making him feel like a piece of meat, a very  _confused_  piece of meat. The blonde would get this heated look in her eyes and at first, Robin thought she wanted to spar. Whenever she wanted to pick a fight with Wally, she'd get the same hawkeyed stare—albeit with a slight twitch to her brow and her bottom lip tortured by pearly white teeth to refrain from responding to speedster battle-puns. With that in mind, he had approached her and asked to train.

Minutes on the mats and Dick began to doubt his assumption. Earlier on the fight had been equally matched but as it dragged out, the archer kept getting distracted, not that he was about to complain. He didn't know why she was so unfocused and his own clothing hardly helped him think. They clung onto him like second skin with his sweat acting as an almighty bonding agent. To divert his attention from how gross he felt— _puberty was such a magical process_ -he pondered on the marketability of self-produced adhesive.

' _Come one, coma all! See the Boy Wonder and his amazingly warm sticky fluids!'_

Aaaaand, that train of thought went way off track.

Lunging forward, Dick jabbed to the right and she dodged out of the way. He followed the movement with a high kick and as predicted, the blonde took a step back. Her arms instinctively moved outward to regain some balance. Quickly, Robin grabbed her outstretched hand and spun around. He hooked his foot around her knee and they both fell.

On impact, he hurriedly immobilized her. He straddled his legs on hers and kept her wrists detained in his hands. Dick leaned up to brag and Artemis…well, it wasn't a groan exactly but it was… _something_. His words caught in his throat at her expression. Wisps of blonde hair had escaped the tight confines of her ponytail while sweat trickled down her temple, her collar bone, her chest. The Boy Wonder noticed her eyes then, dazed with pupils blown wide.

' _No way… she wasn't—towards him…'_

Dick's face burned with sudden realization and he scrambled off the blonde. All those looks and sighs from the archer finally made sense.  _Too much sense_.

"Well" He cleared his throat, "That was a… strenuous session"

Dick winced at the crack in his voice. He fidgeted in place when Artemis just kept staring at him. He had never felt so self-conscious before. Finally, "Yeah, it was"

The blonde's voice was unusually breathy and that sent pleasant yet very bewildering tingles down his neck.

"I gotta go. See ya"

Dick made a beeline to the exit. Heading straight to his room, he entered, closed the door and sank to the floor.

' _Did that really just happen? Artemis was… she was…'_

He didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he was flattered but on the other, Artemis was like a sister and that was just all kinds of awkward. And now, he couldn't disregard all the other advances towards him on the premise that they were all due to his adopted by a billionaire status.

Dick stood up to look himself in the mirror.

Dark blue eyes greeted him and his black hair was mussed from the fight. He had grown a bit and puberty had decided to gift him with gangly limbs that, with his ever constant training, filled out with muscle. Happily enough, his Dumbo ears were starting to mesh with his developing features.

He still didn't' get it though.

He looked the same as always. He really didn't know or understand what could cause such a reaction from someone who was usually so focused. Glazed over dark grey eyes, lips temptingly plump and red, face flushed and glistening in sweat, that was an image of Artemis that had him blushing. The archer was a beautiful girl, of that Dick had no doubt, but he really didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to ignore it?

Or maybe, flirt back?

_Yeah, no._  That would introduce a whole new level of embarrassment not to mention, wasn't that against the Bro Code or something? His best friend and the archer had a brief fling that eventually fizzled out in mutual agreement. But even if Wally didn't have history with her, Dick had no intention of leading the blonde on. Then again, he didn't think he could ignore it either. Artemis had a piercing kind of stare that you could feel a mile away and with that directed on his sweet behind, was more than a little distracting. He was so out of his depth here—maybe he should ask Wally?

_Hahaha. No. Monumentally bad idea._

The speedster would probably laugh at his predicament and think it a joke. He'd make all his stupid puns and—wait a second. A joke, or better yet, a prank!

Dick cackled.

He really didn't know how to handle the extra looks but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little bit of fun with it. People stared, made side comments and took invasive pictures of him all the time. Surely he'd be allowed to make the most out of the situation. Besides, the more he thought about it, the more he got excited by the prospect of playing a game with his friends as the unsuspecting victims—errr… quest givers.

Also, Batman always encouraged him to challenge his limits and train even the most obscure of talents. Dick had clearly neglected to study the art of seduction and now it was time to fix that little oversight. And what better way to do so than with live targets?

It was time to get started.


	2. Chapter I: Equip Your Battlegear Gentlemen

Dick thoroughly scrutinized himself in front of the mirror. If the various magazines were to be believed, he had to dress according to his assets—which was poor advice considering he didn't even know what his assets were. Luckily, he had overheard one of his classmates commenting.

Her exact words had been  _"Phew! Mama wants a bite out of that tushy!"_

Needless to say, he had spent the rest of the day blushing as he avoided that particular classmate and her constant references to his ass via the gift of song.

He was grateful though. He now had the first stone to build the foundations of his prank upon and gathered more through rumors, comments and thinly-veiled side glances.

For the day, he decided to dress in black chinos, a maroon v-neck shirt and boat shoes.

The pants hugged his backside and afforded him the illusion of height. He had grown in two years but he was still a long way from his target. His shirt was made of cotton and while he was partial to shades of blue, he knew that red was more eye-catching, not to mention, it complimented his skin tone. The cloth stretched over his chest and the sleeves, which reached up to his elbows, helped define his upper body musculature. The slight dip was somewhat suggestive and he added a thin silver chain necklace to direct attention to it. His shoes were black with accents of yellow. His hair was tousled like he had just gotten out of bed and finally, there were his shades. They were transitional and would turn from black to varying shades of violet when hit by light. They were sleek and screamed mysterious. It wrapped up his attire quite nicely.

Dick stared. He looked different, good different he would say but whether or not the others would agree, there was only one way to find out. He left his room and headed to the kitchen, the most likely location of the speedster. Soon after he planned his little game, the Boy Wonder decided that the redhead deserved to be the first recipient of his "seductions". As his best friend, Wally had first dibs and Dick couldn't help but comply. Besides, the Wallman had been too busy as of late and Dick was starting to feel a little bit lonesome, not that he would ever admit it.

Nearing the kitchen, he was pleased to learn that he was right, Wally was in attendance. But he could also hear M'gann, Artemis and Zatanna, and he began to feel nervous.

Oh well, might as well get it all over with.

"So what's the plan for today beautiful?" He heard Wally ask as he entered. So far they didn't seem to notice him. They were far too engrossed in M'gann's freshly baked brownies.

"I was thinking of going out to buy some groceries" the Martian said as she began to put away her baking utensils

Zatanna and Artemis were both seated on the booths by the counter, each eating a piece of brown gooey deliciousness. Wally, on the other hand, was finishing off an entire pan by himself. He watched Zee lick off chocolate from her fingertips before saying, "Oh! I bet a little shopping wouldn't hurt"

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea. I think Supey needs new clothes"

"One could say the same for you Baywatch"

It was true. Whereas the Flash was all subdued colors and sweater vests, his nephew was anything but. In fact, right now he looked like a traffic light with his bright yellow Kid Flash shirt— _seriously Wally?_ — green shorts and red plaid over shirt.

"Artemis has a point KF"

"Rob, you're supposed to be on my—woah, what are you wearing?"

The girls turned to look at him and he refrained from fidgeting. Sure, he thought it would be funny but he was still getting used to the attention.

"Oh my, Robin you look…"

"Hot" Both the brunette and blonde exclaimed.

Wally spluttered out and Dick feigned ignorance as he made his way over to get a piece. He watched Wally watch him. It was a quiet few seconds and he felt giddy as he waited for the speedster's reaction.

"Don't you feel cold dude?"

It was different from his usual two or more layers. Typically, he chose clothes that would hide his physique and give him a meek appearance. For today however, he was going for something other than subtlety.

"Nope, feeling kinda warm actually" He said and began pulling at his collar. The girls' heads began tilting just so. They looked distracted. Wally on the other hand, had a thoughtful look on his face. One that didn't change even after Dick stretched his hands over his head. A few seconds after, the speedster shrugged and popped another brownie in his mouth.

Well that was anticlimactic but the day wasn't over yet.

ooOoo

The team, comprising of Artemis, M'gann, Zatanna, Wally and Robin headed to the local mall. Walking around felt slightly surreal because while they had civilian identities, their lifestyles rarely allowed them to take part in mundane every day activities. It felt nice to act like teenagers for once.

As they wandered about, they stumbled on a variety of shops strewn across the atrium. There was some sale going on and the place was jam packed with people. The push and pull of the crowd got them separated, with Artemis and M'gaan on one side, Zee on him on another and Wally some ways down. They signaled to meet up at a nearby pocket garden after a few minutes.

It was just him and Zee looking about. It was nice. Unlike most couples, him and the magician parted ways mutually and thus there was no awkward tension. On the downside, the brunette knew him as well as the back of her hand and that meant any pranks were subjected to early discovery.

"Robin" she called out along with a slight pressure on his arm. Dick turned to look at his ex-girlfriend with a smile.

"What's up Zee?"

Smirking at the now-taller-than-her male, she innocently asked, "What are you up to Boy Wonder?"

Dick refrained from dropping his grin and lied effortlessly, "Nothing Zee"

Now, if only his companion didn't have an innate Robin-bullshit detector.

"Uh-huh, is this a new shirt? Are those new pants? Shoes? Glasses?"

The flimsy cotton was held between her dainty fingers and Dick wondered whether or not it was lame that this was, in fact, a new outfit. The acrobat smoothly led them down to the agreed meeting spot, where Artemis and M'gann were both waiting. He refrained from looking at the victorious grin on the cunning brunette's face as he mumbled, "…maybe"

"There you guys are" M'gann exclaimed as she finally saw them

"Now help us look for Kid Dork and let's get out of here"

Dick quickly scanned the crowd for a mop of red hair. Immediately, his eyes landed on Wally and he volunteered to retrieve the speedster—both so that they could leave and to escape from any upcoming magical interrogations. He reached his best friend to find him bent over, examining a piece of pottery. That was new.

"Oh hey Dick, c'mere, look at this" Wally said as he waved his friend over.

It was then that Dick recalled the girls back at school and how they acted around guys they fancied—might as well give it a shot. Dick smirked as he bent down in the slowest and most sensual way he could. He propped his hands on his knees and arched his back. The position allowed him to push his backside outward in what he hoped was an enticing manner.

And now he felt like a pig about to get roasted.

Wally wasn't even  _looking_  in his direction.

Dick sighed and abandoned the whole awkward " _sexy_ " gesture thing. He faced forward to see a bowl with golden lacquer along its broken seams.

"Isn't that cool? It looks like it has lightning running down on it"

Well that was one way of looking at it.

"It's called Kintsugi KF, or Kintsukuroi. It's the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with resin and gold dust" he said and at Wally's curious glance he continued. He explained about the philosophy of seeing the beauty in imperfection and how the cracks added to the piece's history. He then went on to explain some crafting techniques and typical materials. Wally nodded along with his explanations and grinned at him when he ran out of trivia.

"Well Boy Wonder, you certainly know your pottery"

Dick chuckled in response. If only KF knew how much Bruce had trained him in the art of fancy plates and pots as part of his persona as adopted son of a cultured billionaire. Sadly, his best friend didn't even know his name.

"What lured you over here anyways?"

"I don't know, I just saw it and really liked the color" KF said, running his finger on the rim. "It kinda reminds me of the universe, indigo expanding on the surface with those tiny dots resembling countless stars. And whenever the sunlight hits it just right, it turns into this really vivid blue. Like a supernova bursting across the golden cracks"

Dick smiled at the admission. After so many gruesome missions and mind-numbingly dumb puns, it was easy to forget that at the core, Wally was a total dork, whose love of science went by unfiltered through his mouth. It was endearing.

"So, are you going to buy it?" Dick asked as he straightened up. He watched his friend mull over the question.

"I'm not sure…" Wally said as he picked the small bowl in his hands

"It'll only cost you 3000$"

"Hmm… well maybe I could—"

Dick watched the redhead's slightly paling face. Wally took a few deep breaths and carefully,  _very carefully_  placed the piece back down on its container. He slowly retracted his hands back to his side and blinked at the stall.

The speedster then opened his mouth and, "Three thousand dollars! FOR A BOWL!?"

Dick found himself getting dragged away as he clenched a hand over his gut. He couldn't stop laughing at his red-faced best friend. People were staring at them after Wally's outburst and even the stall vendor was yelling after them about aging artifacts and quality craftsmanship.

ooOoo

After being told off back at the fair, the team headed on to see several boutiques, primarily targeted to women. Considering their company, Dick wasn't surprised. He and Wally were acting more like chaperones than shoppers and aside from the frequent snacking, thanks to Kid Mouth, they spent the time accompanying the girls. Dick would give his opinions when asked but Wally seemed to be getting antsy.

"Dude, quit fidgeting"

"I can't help it Rob, I'm bored"

Dick rolled his eyes. If the redhead ever went shopping with Barbara, he would never complain about the relatively tolerable experience of going out with the girls. Seriously, Babs was a hellion when it came to looking for deals.

"Baywatch, quit being a pest" Artemis said as she smacked him on the arm

"Ow! I can't help it, you girls take so long" he said while rubbing at the sore spot.

Miss M lowered the dress she was checking out to move over to their side. Zatanna followed after her and the Martian said, "Oh, I'm sorry Wally. I was under the impression that shopping was a long process here on earth"

Wally was about to say some flirty remark that would have both Artemis and Dick rolling their eyes but Zee beat him to it.

"I know! We should give you guys a makeover"

"Uhhh...what?"

At the sight of Artemis and Zatanna sharing truly sinister looks, Dick knew they really had no say in the decision. Besides, it would be hilarious. Even Miss M seemed to be excited at the idea—she probably watched one of those shows, Extreme Makeover something something… whatever.

It was settled, Wally was getting a makeover.

"Hey at least you won't be bored" Robin said as he lightly elbowed his friend.

Wally glared at his cheeky grin and complained, "Dude, how come Rob doesn't have to?"

Artemis raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the question and retorted, "Have you seen him?"

Dick blushed and Wally looked at him, still confused. M'gann giggled at their reactions while Zee looked thoroughly amused. The magician wrapped her arm on the speedster's and bumped him with her shoulder.

"Wally, it'll be fun." A smile "Now what should we do first?"

At the question, the green-eyed teen tried to get away but Zatanna tightened her hold on him. Dick laughed at the panicked look on his best friend's face and pulled him over to his side. The brunette gave him a playful pout while the redhead clung to his side. His actions screamed  _'don't let them take me dude!'_.

Dick laid a reassuring arm along Wally's shoulders before suggesting, "I recommend a haircut is in order"

Wally jolted up and exclaimed, "What? No way"

"A haircut would be interesting" Said Zatanna as she and Artemis both scrutinized the speedster.

Wally tried to back away but with Dick's arm around him, he couldn't even budge an inch. "Nononononoooo"

Artemis tried to coerce her ex but Dick could see even she would be hard-pressed to convince him. It was time to use their secret weapon. With a look, the Boy Wonder signaled to M'gann.

"Oh come on Wally, please?" the Martian asked with wide amber eyes. Wally tried to say no but he had a huge chink in his armor against Miss M, especially since their relationship had evolved into sibling affection and Wally was nothing but a dutiful older brother.

"…fiiiiiine."

The girls high-fived and dragged the speedster to the nearest barber shop. On the way there, they discussed various hairstyles with Wally piping in every few seconds. The redhead couldn't get a word in edgewise and Dick chuckled at his poor attempts.

"How about—"

"No Baywatch."

"Ok, then what about—"

"That won't work."

"Alright, fine. But this one looks—"

"I'm sorry Wally, but no"

"Hey girls, how about this one?"

"Oooh! Nice find Boy Wonder"

"Rob?"

"Yeah Walls?"

"You traitor"

The acrobat laughed at the speedster's sour expression and waved him away while Artemis dragged him to his seat. Dick watched the barber work through the unruly hair. At first, the professional would try to keep the redhead from bouncing with kind words. When that didn't work, he settled for exasperated sighs and pointed looks. Artemis was beside them, watching over the duo like a hawk. Despite breaking up, the archer still mothered his best friend and that made Robin feel calm enough to relax. Wally was in good hands.

He knew he was protective of his best friend and vice versa. In fact, they all were over one another; it was a side effect of working in the superhero business. So when Wally yelped loudly, the acrobat needed a second to calm himself down. The redhead was just getting his hair blow-dried—the hot air probably tickling his back. Once that was finished, the barber took out some gel and began to style the scarlet locks accordingly. Dick knew it was a hopeless endeavor because once the speedster started running, then all that carefully crafted wisps of red were going to be windswept mess. Even then, when Wally came over, Dick felt weak in the knees.

"So?" The redhead asked shyly as he looked down on his beaten up tennis shoes.

M'gann squealed in delight and Zee beamed at him. Artemis looked equal parts smug and proud and Dick looked carefully, committing the details to memory. Wally's hair naturally curled at the end and the new cut had the red strands tumbling artistically in front of him. The sides were close shaven at the bottom while the top portion was combed messily downward. The usually untamable locks now gave the speedster an air of boyish playfulness. Dick couldn't help but reach out to flick a strand as he praised, "Looks good Wally"

Wally flushed at the compliment. At the back of his mind, Dick noted that the red on his cheeks looked nice.

"Now we just have to finish up the whole look" Zatanna exclaimed as she excitedly lead them to a few shops. Wally followed absentmindedly for a few minutes until he eventually returned back to himself. He insisted that the haircut was enough and that the girls should go back to their female empowerment activity,  _shopping_. That comment earned him a light smack on the head courtesy of the blonde. When that tactic of distraction failed to detract the girls from their mission, Wally confessed that he had limited funds. And when Dick said that money was no issue, it was his turn to get swatted at by the redhead.

It was at the ninth… tenth? Whatever shop that Dick realized girls thought about this extensively, far too extensively. He had experience with Barbara, but the redhead often kept her comments about the various clothing pieces to herself. Zatanna and Artemis on the other hand, traded opinions like judges handing out sentences. They discussed color, sizes, patterns, cloth types, proportions and even various lighting in one breath. It was a bit of a culture shock for both him and Wally. Even M'gann joined in on the discussion like a pro. Maybe it was an innate female skill?

The girls eventually began arguing about a shirt they saw and left the two males to settle the dispute. Wally slunk down into the cushioned seat of the department store. His feet were aching and coming from a speedster that was saying something. Dick took the opportunity to look around as his best friend muttered about where to eat. Something caught the Boy Wonder's eye and he grabbed at it and shoved the pieces of cloth in the redhead's hands. Robin pushed Kid Flash into one of the changing stalls, ignoring the surprised curses. It took a few seconds, but eventually, Wally came out. The speedster stood in front of a mirror thoughtfully contemplating his appearance. Dick stood beside him.

Wally now wore dark moss green corduroy pants and a blue denim shirt. The trousers crumpled at the bottom but the redhead's height made it look intentional. The shirt was unbuttoned at the top and pale freckled skin peeked out. The speedster's old tennis shoes made the outfit look much more casual and relaxed. Amused, Dick noted that it looked like they traded color schemes.

It was strange how much they had grown.

They stood from the shadow of two boys who used to run amok with lanky limbs and high pitched giggles. Dick didn't really see how much he'd changed but the differences in Wally were more pronounced to him. The speedster had lost most of his baby fat and was rewarded with strong jaw. There starting strands of side burns and stubble on the redhead's face. Wisps of hair that made him seem mature despite the fact that the redhead would be the first to make an inappropriate fart joke. His friend's physique was also different. Wally's body looked more streamlined yet also angular. The way he held himself looked frenetic, as if he had too much energy that needed to be burnt through constant bouncing and swaying.

Dick wondered if he'd ever grow up to be as tall as Wally. A part of him also worried on whether or not he'd ever be able to catch up to the fastest teen alive; whether or not growing up would also mean parting ways. He swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head at the thought.

"What?" Kid Flash asked him when he noticed the Boy Wonder's less than asterous mood change.

"It's… it's nothing"

"No, seriously, what is it?"

"It's silly" And it was it really was, but Wally just gave him an encouraging look to continue. Dick shuffled his foot shyly on the tiled floor as he said, "I was just thinking of how much we've grown"

That was a poor summary of all the thoughts that had flitted through the Boy Wonder's head, but it was the only thing he'd allow himself to say. As his best friend though, Wally seemed to have an inkling of what Dick truly meant and he gave the acrobat his own rueful smile. The speedster took a step back so that he was now standing behind Dick and cheerfully added, "Still taller than you though, Short Wonder"

Dick narrowed his eyes at the comment and before he could reply, the doofus behind him reached over and gave him a noogie. Dick groaned in protest before smacking the speedster's hand. Wally just chuckled in response and eventually, Robin laughed along with him. Dick automatically relaxed against Wally's side when the redhead kept his arms lazily around his neck.

He began wondering why the girls were taking so long. In his opinion, he'd already manage to find the perfect outfit for the human traffic light. He knew they could always go look for them but he felt comfortable right where he was. The few people that walked pass went by unnoticed except for one group that was just standing there, staring at them. The bad looks they were giving him and KF were baffling and it wasn't until they began making crude gestures that he realized what their problem was.

He and his best friend were giving off a couple-y vibe. Apparently the idiots took offense to that. The realization of why made Robin want to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

Him and Wally as a couple?  _Absolutely laughable._

Despite how funny it was, Dick still felt slightly miffed about their reaction.  _If_  they were together—which the clearly were not—how was it anyone else's business? Still, he knew better than to just start a fight with random civilians. That didn't stop him from egging them on though. The Boy Wonder casually leaned his head on the speedster's collar bone, his breath playing across pale skin. It seemed a fight was well on its way as the group neared them but Dick didn't see them anymore. He was too busy taking note of Wally's cologne and somehow, it felt like the redhead's arms had stiffened around him. Was the speedster's heart beating faster than normal or was this the normal pace for him? Better question, did Dick imagine Wally's reaction?

He didn't have time to mull over the question because the band of morons had now edged close enough to be a threat. Before any words were spoken, the girls came rushing in, bumping the group harshly as they did so. Zee and M'gann made a show of fussing over the two of them and Dick knew they were just acting but Wally remained ignorant as always. Dick noticed Artemis giving the group a withering glare and they scurried off like the homophobic cowards that they were. Robin really needed to ask for pointers on Archer Death Glares.

The Bat Glare that Bruce had instilled in him was less for sending idiots running and more for making hardened criminals pee their pants. There was a bit too much of a discrepancy between intensity.

Apparently, Dick's choice was a good fit. The girls were happy and agreed to call it a day. At the mention of food, Wally also cheered up and they headed on to look for dinner. Dick looked at the darkening skies and realized that they had spent the day just hanging out. It was fun though despite the fact his plan of "seducing" Wally failed. On the plus side, he could cross out Arty, Zee and M'gann off his list. Now if only he had the foresight to bring along a sweater.

Dick rubbed his arms in an effort to keep warm but eventually found himself blanketed by Wally's over shirt.

"Knew you'd get cold" the speedster said with a smirk and Dick responded with an eloquent snort.

They walked on to promises of food and Dick pretended not to notice Zatanna giving him a curious look. He had to be careful around the magician. It wouldn't take long before Zee figured it out and that might lead to complications. For the meantime however, there was pizza and a newly makeover-ed speedster awaiting him.


	3. If At First You Don't Succeed...

" _Recognized Robin B01"_

Dick took a deep breath as he stepped down from the zeta beam platform. He was fresh off from Wayne Industries and had headed straight to Mount Justice. It was training day, but that wasn't the reason why he had arrived much earlier than scheduled.

It was time to give his extra-curricular activities another go.

His first attempt had been a bust, a blatant underestimation on his part. He knew that his kneejerk and half-assed efforts were the root of his failure and if this were an actual mission and not one of teenage whimsy, he would've found himself on the receiving end of Batman's ire. Fortunately this time, he came prepared.

While waiting for his adoptive father back at the tower, Robin had scoured the lobbies for references he could use. Like any battle, the path to victory was paved in useful intel and he hoped a good reading through various magazines could whet his sorely lacking skills. Unfortunately, Wayne Corporation's magazine subscription was limited to subjects on science, business and politics. The blue-eyed teen highly doubted that reading about inflation rates, new car models and the current political scandal would help with his side project. Luckily, the Boy Wonder discovered that the ladies at the reception desk had a few choice magazines. It was such a cliché, a guilty pleasure from receptionists all around that could bring him closer to his goal, albeit with badly restrained cackling and disbelieving side comments. It had taken some time to convince them to let him borrow their precious magazines and that no, he was not going to report them to the H.R. department.

Equipped with the knowledge from gems with such eloquent titles such as 'Attract Your Dream Guy!', 'A Girl's Secret Weapon: Tips and tricks to make him fall head over heels', and 'Why He Didin't Friend You on Facebook', the Boy Wonder felt ready for another attempt.

With a bounce to his step, he stalked through the halls of Mount Justice looking for his best friend. Wally was still target numero uno and until he had the speedster blushing as red as his hair, Dick refused to move on to the next victim—target—err…  _training buddy_. His self-image as Batman's protégé was on the line and there was no way he was going to have it suffer due to redheaded obliviousness.

Predictably, Dick found his best friend in the living room, mashing buttons together.

"Hey dude, what up?"

Alright, time to put the new skill set to the test.

' _Get him to talk about himself.'_

"Oh nothing, how about you?"

"Ehhhhh… same old, same old" was Wally's noncommittal answer. It seemed Robin would have to do a bit more prodding to get the freckled teen going.

"Really? Nothing new with you?"

A few seconds was his only warning when Wally finally replied, "Well… I was late to class then rushed some homework, stopped a few baddies on the way here with Barry too and—oh oh! That reminds me, there's this new shop that opened a few blocks from Central City Mall and they sell superhero stuff dude! Pretty cool right? Anyways, I was thinking of getting a Kid Flash hoodie but I wasn't sure—do you think that would be too conspicuous with the whole secret identity thing? Although… I guess I could just go for a Flash one but I'm not sure—I imagine Uncle Barry would have something to say about that though—what do you think Rob?"

Oh. Right.

Dick forgot he was talking to Kid Mouth here, master of directionless ranting. Typically, the Boy Wonder would've had a sarcastic comment to derail the topsy-turvy conversation but according to his sources, people loved to talk about themselves and encouraging them to do so, assured a point in one's favor. Was that still applicable when two people already liked each other?—as  _friends_  that is.

It wasn't like the acrobat didn't have time to kill and the opportunity to test it out now, and so, "How about a Robin hoodie?"

"Hmmm… a Robin hoodie, huh? I don't know… I don't think they have any Gotham merchandise though—well they probably have something of Batman's but that's because he's a high profile leaguer. Not to mention, it's all the way down in Central so they probably won't have it. I'll check though. Is it okay for me to wear it though? No hard, pointy bat feelings on the issue? You won't feel weird that I'm wearing your  _'stuff'_? 'Cuz while we traded plushies—I still have Robear back at my room—this is different somehow… I think… Like the way Supey keeps on wearing Superman shirts. Also, do you think it would look good on me? Wait a minute, of course it would—I'm the  _Wallman_. If I do find one would you want a Kid Flash hoodie too? It could be like friendship thing, like the ones girls have? Friendship sweaters, is that a thing? We should totally make a thing dude. What if we…"

And Wally trailed on and on and on.

Dick could never get used to how adept the speedster was in running his motor mouth and multi-tasking. The freckled teen managed to clear two levels in his RPG in the span of his word vomit and Robin felt slightly miffed at Wally's progress. He, himself, was stuck in his own game, barely making any ground as it were. Hell, at this rate, he wasn't even playing; it was like he was stuck at the tutorial stage, at the very least, the title screen.

' _The Legend of Dick Grayson: Scarlet Speedster Edition'_

No matter, he was a bat for a reason and he still had other tricks up his sleeve.

Next Tactic, ' _Laugh at his jokes'_

That sounded simple enough, especially since Dick's been doing that his whole life. Laughter just came naturally in the face of the speedster's…well, face— _seriously Wallman, that is not a 'come hither' look. You're gonna send the poor girl you're crushing on running away_ —jokes and adorable stupidity.

And what Dick meant by adorable stupidity was just stupidity, plain and simple stupidity. In fact, now that he thought about it, another thing that could count as idiocy was being told to laugh in some loud, obnoxious and posh manner just to grab the attention of one's intended. Laughter didn't deserve to be desecrated with some pretentious tactic at flirtation. Besides, he's been chuckling, cackling and giggling with the redhead since they were boys. So far, those didn't yield any kind of special reaction.

Moving on then,  _touch him frequently; keep your touch_   _light yet also firm._

He could do that. He was instinctively a kinesthetic person and so was Wally. Dick reached over to lightly brush away at imaginary lint. The speedster spared him a short glance before shrugging and turning back to his game. The freckled teen continued his one-sided conversation on whether he should get a Green Lantern nightlight or a Flash flashlight. Robin knew that with both his mouth in overdrive and his fingers doing the tango with the controller, Wally's attention was fragmented and would ignore other distractions; which in this case meant the Boy Wonder. He had to put a bit more pressure if he wanted the redhead to even notice what he was doing. Pushed by that motivation, Dick reached over and trailed his hand firmly along Wally's spine. The speedster yelped at the action, jerking up and dropping the controller.

Finally! A reaction!

Unfortunately, Dick hadn't been paying any attention to the game and his ill-timed prodding had caused the death of one unfortunate rogue via dragon consumption.

Both boys stared at the screen for a few seconds before turning to one another. Wally narrowed his eyes at the acrobat before launching himself. Mistaking the gesture as an intentional move to destroy the perfect playthrough led to rough housing and slappy fights.

Dick might've been an utter noob at seduction but he was still trained by Batman and so, he soon had Wally squealing out for his uncle. It was while pinning the redhead down on the couch that Robin decided it was time to bring out the big guns.

_Eye contact._

This one had to work. He had tested it back at the office and he had people practically swooning all over him. Apparently his dark blues just had that magnetic quality that one could even say he inherited— _not that it was possible_ —from Bruce.

Smirking, Dick looked imploringly at Wally. He made sure to make his eyes wide and slightly bowed his head to look up through his eyelashes. Seconds passed…still nothing.

"Uhhhh… Rob, what are you doing?" And there came the damning question.

Dick pursed his lips then huffed before sitting back down. He handed the speedster his controller back before responding with a nonchalant "Nothing"

This was so frustrating. Did he do something wrong? His best weapon had just been downgraded to useless and he was starting to get irritated at the utter futility this endeavor was proving to be. Dick thought it through very meticulously. He replayed the scenes in his head and reviewed his shortcomings with a critical eye.

It was when Wally finally reached his previous checkpoint that Dick realized he was still wearing his sunglasses.

He felt like such an idiot.

ooOoo

Dick was sparring with Superboy but even with the threat of a Kryptonian powered punch, his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop rehashing his continuous failures. The acrobat did as the magazines asked but not even those were able to drill through speedster thick-headedness. He also cursed his own absentmindedness. Yes, people occasionally forgot that they wearing certain items but it just didn't happen to him, the freaking  _Boy Wonder_.

Why was the freckled teen so hard to crack anyways?

Was it because Wally was a guy and a self-professed ladies man?

Then again, Robin recalled the redhead once eyeing Roy. It was understandable really. Roy was handsome in that graceful yet commanding way. Maybe that was Wally's type then? He did date Artemis and she was equally bossy and temperamental. Was that the key to unlocking a flustered speedster?

Dick tore his gaze for a second from Superboy and looked to the other sparring pair. It was only the four of them with Kaldur off at Atlantis for hydrokinesis training and M'gann practicing density shifting with her uncle. The other pair was trading off hits and witty one-liners.

Dick felt a strange weight settle in his stomach at the sight of them together.

Last minute, he saw a fist coming his way and he frantically back flipped away. He had the wrong form though and he got a pulled muscle for his lack of focus. He hissed in pain and tripped over his own feet, landing with a thud on his ass. It was with mild satisfaction that he saw Wally immediately stop what he was doing to look worriedly in his direction.

"Robin, your head's not in the game" Dinah said bluntly. Her gaze was sharp and expectant and he couldn't fault her for it either.

"I—yeah, sorry about that BC"

The blonde softened her gaze at the apology and looked at the team. They were growing up and she knew from experience that it could be a little overwhelming and even distracting. It was dangerous not to be a hundred percent in the mission but it couldn't be helped, not completely that was. Besides, Robin wasn't one to lose focus without reason. Dinah sighed before finally releasing her charges.

"Head to the showers"

On the way to the locker rooms, they kept to themselves. The showers didn't have any partitions, just basic courtesy and common sense to keep people from peeping on one another.

As Dick stepped under the hot drizzle of water, he let out a pleasant sigh. Wally and Superboy were in with him, Wally, a showerhead away while Connor on the other side of the room. Robin ran his hands through his hair and at the touch, he recalled the speedster's new haircut. At the corner of his eye, he caught Wally also threading his thin fingers through his hair.

Dick blinked for a second or two. He had an idea but he wasn't sure whether or not to go for it. Considering he had already played his hand in his little side project and all it had resulted in was a throbbing shoulder, maybe it was time to give it a rest.

Then again, as soon as he finished his little side mission, the sooner he could focus on his actual responsibilities. Besides, desperate times did call for desperate measures.

Gathering his courage and burying his embarrassment under a thick layer of the Nike slogan  _'Just do it'_ , he began to make…  _noises_  as he massaged his sore muscles. They started off quietly— _shyly_  and eventually got louder.

"Ahhh… aah… aaaahhh"

_This was mortifying._

Dick felt his cheeks burn at the sounds he was making. It almost felt like an out of body experience, an uncontrollable, humiliating moment that he doubted he'd ever live down. To somewhat help with the indignity of how far he was willing to stoop down to accomplish his own ends, he closed eyes, focusing instead on the patter of water against his skin.

It took a while but there was a sudden  _thunk_  that got him opening his dark blues. Robin turned immediately to his side but no one was there. Dick furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, where was Wally? He remembered that the speedster typically took five minute showers, which meant that the redhead probably missed the entire show.

Dick groaned and banged his head repeatedly on the tiled wall. He cursed his own foolishness and lack of foresight once again.

But he definitely heard something and since Wally wasn't here, where else could it have come from?

The acrobat turned around slowly and caught sight of Connor lying on the ground, his nose bleeding.

" _Uh-oh"_

ooOoo

Wally and Dick managed to carry the superclone out of the showers, with the speedster taking the bulk of Connor's weight.

"What happened to Supey?" Wally asked as they laid him down on a bench by the lockers.

"Don't know, I didn't even know Kryptonians could get bloody noses" Dick replied as he fixed his hastily fastened towel around his midsection. He tried to ignore his near state of undress in favor of shaking Superboy awake.

"You don't think he's sick or anything right?" Wally asked worriedly by his side and Dick shrugged in response.

"We'll have to wait for SB to wake up"

It only took a few minutes for Connor to wake up and he immediately found himself looking at the worried faces of Robin and Kid Flash. The speedster was dressed for the day but Robin only had a small towel wrapped around his hips.

"Hey Supey, how you feeling?"

Connor stared at them vacantly before gruffly answering, "Fine" The clone then sat up and was relieved to discover that they had wrapped him up in a towel as well.

"You had us worried back there, what happened?" Dick asked as he stood right in front of Superboy. Connor gazed at him, his eyes drifting down, lingering for a while, then back up, before looking away. He was worrying his lip as his face turned uncharacteristically red.

"Nothing"

"Woah, Supey, ya sure you're ok?"

"Yeah" The half-Kryptonian was resolutely not looking at either of them as he quickly stood up and walked out of the locker rooms. He headed straight for his room. There was silence once he left but then something clicked in the Boy Wonder's head. Just then, he remembered who had been in the shower with him as he started his…  _performance_.

"Hmm… I wonder if he's really ok?" When Dick didn't answer, Wally turned to look at him "Dude! You're really red, you're not running a fever too or something are you?"

The speedster's hand was warm on Robin's forehead and the acrobat had to make the conscious effort not to jerk away in surprise. Instead, he playfully slapped the pale hand away but then found himself cursing in pain. Wrong arm.

"Rob, you ok?" Wally asked and Dick refrained from letting his discomfort show.

"Yeah, just a pulled muscle"

The redhead pursed his lips at the acrobat's words, thinking it over carefully. Dick could almost see the thought bubbles popping out, fighting for dominance in that lightning quick brain of his.

It was admittedly satisfying to finally have Wally's attention. Not that Dick was so starved for attention from the speedster. It was just  _nice_. Plus, he was curious where that dense brain was going.

"Does it hurt that bad?"

"No, not really…" Dick trailed off unconvincingly. It was intentional on his part but Wally didn't know that and as predicted, Wally, with a raised eyebrow, asked, "Really?"

"Well…"

"You want my help?"

Dick tried to keep his face from showing anything. He had an inkling of what the speedster would offer but surely he wasn't going to do  _that_. Right? Plus, he really shouldn't egg the older teen on, he had already attempted several times in the span of a few hours and so far, all his planning hadn't amounted to anything. It was time for Robin to just head on home, nurse his wounded pride, and come up with a new strategy.

"Uhh… sure"

_What_?

Robin silently cursed his traitorous mouth as Wally smiled and gestured for him to sit down. The Boy Wonder suddenly felt self-conscious in his towel but did as was told. So Wally was indeed going to give him a massage? Surely there was nothing wrong with two guys helping each other out but somehow this felt different.

The redhead went around to stand behind him and Dick tried to ignore the way his cheeks suddenly flushed at the heat of the speedster. He hoped to Batman that Wally wouldn't notice. Hell, he hoped to Alfred that Batman hadn't installed any security cameras here.

He jerked a little bit when he felt the warm press of fingers on his shoulders.

"Where does it hurt?" Wally asked

"Umm… somewhere along my left shoulder"

"Ok… here?"

"A little lower"

"You mean here?" Was Wally's breath getting huskier or was Dick just imagining things? His best friend's fingers were light and if it wasn't for the searing heat left in its trail, Dick would've doubted its presence.

"Y-yeah" This wasn't the norm was it? To have one's distinctly straight male best friend hovering behind you with hot calloused fingers against naked, wet skin. "You don't have to—"

Dick didn't get to finish that statement as he suddenly felt Wally's hand vibrating against his sore muscles. He groaned at the sensation, and leaned into the redhead's touch. His muscles felt like jelly.

"Is that helping?"

"Mmmhmmm, don't stop"

Wally chuckled behind him as his other hand ran careful circles along the acrobat's side. Dick jolted at the touch.

"Dude, that tickles" He said as he reflexively bent away from the prying fingers

"Sorry, sorry" He didn't sound sorry at all, "Wait, quit moving"

Wally moved his hands to rest along the junction between his neck and shoulder.

"How 'bout here?"

"Hmm… feels good"

"Yeah?"

' _Ohhh, definitely'_  Dick thought. This felt so good, why didn't they make this a regular thing? They really should. In fact, they should even go through with Wally's initial idea for friendship sweaters. The idea of the redhead in something that was recognizably his would just be great. It would be the perfect mark for  _'He's my best friend, hands off'._

"Yeah… could you press down harder though?"

"Like this?"

"Harder"

"How about now?"

" _Harder_."

The speedster pressed down, his calloused fingers passing through a tender spot that had Dick moaning out and arching his back.

_So… good_

Wait a minute.

_What the hell was going on!?_

This wasn't on the agenda for the day. He was the one who was supposed to be seducing the speedster, not the other way around— _not_  that he was getting seduced or anything of the sort. Dick didn't have those kinds of inclinations towards his best friend— _no sireee_. No. No. Nope.

As much as he liked Wally, Dick considered himself perfectly impervious to the redhead's charm. And that was precisely why he most certainly did  _not_  squeak out in a pitch reserved for dogs and abruptly stood up.

"Rob?" Wally's eyes were wide in surprise and Dick laughed nervously.

"I think I'm actually getting the cold, hehe—must've gotten it from SB, well, I gotta go home just to be sure, see ya later dude"

"uhh… Alright, see ya"

Dick didn't respond and just hightailed it out of there before he could make an even bigger fool out of himself

ooOoo

The walk to Wayne Manor had calmed his nerves significantly and Dick met Alfred at the foyer with his usual smile.

"Master Dick" Came the usual greeting as well as a cup of tea offered on a tray. Alfred really was the best.

"Hey Alfred, is Bruce home yet?"

"I'm afraid not sir, Master Bruce has sent word that he'll be arriving later in the evening"

"Will he be back for patrol?"

"I believe so sir. How was training?"

"It was…" There was no way in hell Dick would say anything about the shower incident, especially not to Alfred of all people "Educational"

"I see. Oh, before I forget Master Dick, some letters have arrived for you"

Dick paused partway through drinking his tea before turning to face Alfred. "You mean…?"

"Yes sir, I took the liberty of bringing them to your room"

_Them_. That meant that there were multiple packages.

"Thanks Alfred"

The letters and packages had started arriving earlier in the year. Most came from his school mates, some from vague acquaintances and others even from strangers. Most of the letters were pretty harmless but every so often there would be a slightly more disturbing package. Once he received a lock of hair along with a box of chocolates, he had tried one and promptly spit it out once he felt glass on his tongue. The accompanying message of that particular gift had him swearing off sweets for a while. He had learned early on to never ingest any of the goods regardless of how tantalizing they looked.

Dick looked through this week's assortment of letters. There were only three boxes, doable. He sifted through the contents. Most were the usual confessions of adorations but there was also the occasional death threat, and he began to separate the contents into piles of harmless and suspicious. Dick didn't know how Bruce dealt with these. His adoptive father would often receive the same kind of items but the Wayne heir simply left them to the mercy of his secretary who would then forward any stalker-ish behavior to him. Dick really didn't know how Bruce could callously disregard these tokens to critical scrutiny by a third party but after looking through the… what was it? The twentieth letter? He was starting to agree.

There was one that stood out however. It was deep green and contrasted greatly with the surrounding pink and red letters. He carefully lifted it from the box and found an embossed purple outline of a heart with a dot underneath. It read.

" _Roses are red_  
_Violets, blue_  
_I have a request my dear_  
_Would you like to hear?_

_A secret underneath the smiles_  
_The truth beneath your wiles_  
_Won't you share with me,_  
_Your true identity?"_

Dick gave the unique color choice some props but the poem he'd rate a six out of ten. He received so many letters asking him to share his  _"true self"_  that it was admittedly pitiful on the writer's part. He wasn't one to be cruel and insult someone's feelings but honestly, if they expected him to actually reveal who he really was without giving him the same courtesy, he felt that he had every right to laugh.

Dick snorted and was about to chuck the letter along with the others but he looked at it once again. The Boy Wonder heard Alfred calling him for dinner and he made the decision to set aside in his bedside drawer.

The fact that the green was so similar to a certain idiot's eye color wasn't the reason why he decided to keep it.

_Nope, not at all._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You see what I did there? I just added some corn starch. You know, to make the plot thicken mwahahahaha!  
> Wait! don't leave because of my bad puns!
> 
> Leave because of my bad writing OnO
> 
> Hey guys, apologies for the delayed update. I've been meaning to update much sooner but then I got hit by a mountain load of school crap to deal with and a new discovery of Spideypool fanfiction XDD I will update as much as I can, at the very least monthly. I do hope you know that each review, follow and fave means very much to me. See ya at the next update.


	4. Push and Pull

Dick was listlessly playing with his food. He shoved off his peas to join forces with his mushrooms on the other side of his plate while he formed his baby corn into a barricade, separating his troops from the enemy. He was coming up with a plan of attack that would successfully bring down the evil carrot strips dead center on the porcelain battlefield. The evil orange sticks might have slightly resembled a certain speedster's hairstyle but he would deny having noticed the fact. He just didn't know what to do.

The Boy Wonder was at a complete lost as to what else he could do. It had been days since the impromptu massage and he still hadn't mustered the courage to try anything else. Hell, with how busy he has been, he hasn't been able to catch sight of Wally as often since the incident. It also didn't help that every time the redhead was so much in the same vicinity, he'd get a tingly sensation at his back. His mind kept replaying the sensation of vibrating fingertips trailing and prodding, a memory that refused to leave and boggled him to no end. It was distracting to say the least.

His schedule was hectic. With his upcoming birthday and the media " _requesting_ " for full coverage on the event, he just didn't have the luxury of time. His to-do list was jam packed with extensive interviews, photoshoots, schoolwork and crime fighting. With the stress of being an unwilling public figure and his nighttime activities, Dick had hoped that his seduction efforts would at least prove successful. Unfortunately, reality didn't work that way and so, the young acrobat took his frustrations out on carrot top with an aggressive assault of vegetables.

"Ok, Spill. What's got you playing vegetable wars?" Barbara asked as she held his hand to stop the attack. Despite her dainty fingers, her grip was firm and he gave up on the invasion, choosing instead to pout childishly and lean back on his seat.

"It's nothing Babs"

"Dick you've been spacing out since this morning and while I get how Professor Adler droning on and on about his government conspiracies is a total bore, you always pay attention during advanced calculus"

Dick was about to weave a noncommittal answer that would have most shrugging off, but his other best friend was giving him the  _look._ He'd have to tell her something of worth.

Leaning forward, the Boy Wonder admitted to one of his troubles, "I've just been thinking about some letters…"

As any good friend was wont to do, Babs lowered her utensils and gave him her full attention as she asked, "What letters?"

"Well, remember how I sometimes get those anonymous letters?"

A snort was the redhead's immediate answer as she playfully pointed her fork towards him. The pasta hanging on swayed at the motion and Dick briefly questioned his sanity, since his thoughts had immediately turned towards how the  _other redhead_  would have probably leaned forward right away to steal the not-offered— _noffered?_ —food.

"Sometimes? Dick, the last time your fangirls discovered your locker combination was also the last time you had a locker" Babs replied pointedly as she then munched on her carbonara.

"And now, you're mooching off of yours truly" she added as an afterthought, pointing to herself with an empty fork. Dick didn't know how the commissioner's daughter could manage to make the gesture look graceful and utterly sardonic. He grinned in her direction. It really was no wonder why they were the best of buddies.

"Which I'm eternally grateful for Babs."

"As you should be Dickie. Now tell me about those letters"

"I don't know what to do with them anymore. They've begun to prove more of a bother than they're worth" He replied as he finally took a bite from his lunch. The vegetables were a little stale now in the aftermath of his stress-induced fiddling. Oh well, he could still shove them around; it wasn't like he was that hungry after all.

"Well, what does Bruce do with them?"

"I don't know. Ship them off to a materials recovery facility for an extra buck? Send them off to incineration to help provide thermal energy to third world countries? Maybe forward them to the Gotham Gazette on the off chance that those vultures get a paper cut?"

Babs snickered at his reply and answered, "Well… as  _villainous_  as that plan sounds, maybe you should do the simple and sensible thing and ignore them? Take a break. I know how busy you are. I mean, if you're up to it, we could head to the mall and hang out?"

"You're not trying to manipulate me into joining you for another shopping spree are you?"

Barbara swatted him lightly as she grinned. "Of course not Dickie. In fact, I'd be quite willing to treat the billionaire's son to ice cream."

"Thanks Babs"

"Don't mention it"

And that was that, awkward conversation averted. Now, Dick could not-eat his food in relative peace. Or so he thought.

"For a minute there, I actually suspected you had your head in the clouds thinking about some girl"

Dick had been trained by the goddamn Batman in the art of wearing a mask, in veiling his pain and fears and switching between identities in an instant without so much of a sweat. Strangely enough, the women closest to him seem to have an innate skill in reading him like an open book.

The Boy Wonder turned his face away in what he hoped to all the gods that existed looked casual enough and propped a small button mushroom in his mouth to add to the effect.

"Dick…?"

_No no no no… this was not happening._

To avoid the conversation he just had to shove more cold vegetables in his mouth. "…Hmm?"

"Diiick" And now the redhead had her utensils down. Dick nervously swallowed his food as he looked to his friend innocently.

"What?"

They stared at each other for a minute, Babs scrutinizing his every move and Dick trying his best to stay still. He blamed Wally for the sudden need to twitch.

"Oh my god! Who is she?" she demanded in a loud voice. Some girls, a table away, turned to their direction, hoping for an earful in what probably looked to be juicy gossip on Bruce Wayne's adopted son's relationship status.

"It's nothing, it's not a girl." He hurriedly placated.

It took a half second pause for him to realize his mistake and another for Barbara to draw in the entire canteen.

"A BOY!?"

Dick frantically leant over the table to cover her mouth and smiled charmingly at the students passing through. A few were giving him curious looks while others, some guys surprisingly, looked far too interested in what was obviously a private conversation. The rumor mill was about to churn some very funny stories come dismissal time.

"Babs! Shhhh!"

The redheaded hellion that was Barbara Gordon, easily detached his hands from her face and leant forward conspiratorially. She gestured for him to do the same and when he hesitated, she grabbed the lapels of his school uniform and pulled him in. Dick had to stop himself from squeaking. Leave it to the commissioner's daughter to have a fully-trained vigilante wishing for a one-on-one with the Joker instead of a heart to heart chat.

"You—you've been having the hots for some boy and you didn't tell me!?" She whispered angrily, her brows furrowing in betrayal. "Since when have you even found guys attractive?"

Dick scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he tried to convince her, "It's not like that. Trust me Babs, it's really nothing."

"Richard John Grayson-Wayne you tell me right now or I'll tell Alfred about how you've been playing with your food for the past half hour" In addition to her already impressive resume skills, the young Miss Gordon also threatened like a Bat.

"Ok, ok. It started like this…"

Ten minutes after, Babs hit him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"I didn't think you were that narcissistic Dick" She said over the rim of her drink. Her eyes were cool yet there was slight twinge of amusement in them.

"What? I'm not" He denied uncertainly as he flicked out another piece of his food. It bounced off their table and ended up landing on the floor. At the looks his companion and the other students gave him, he bowed his head sheepishly and finally pushed his plate away.

"Really?"

"Look, it's not like I'm doing this to be mean. I'm just having a little bit of innocent fun" He said and moved on to swishing his drink around. Why couldn't he stop fidgeting?

_This was all Wally's fault._

"You're telling me that you don't feel the slightest bit flattered at the attention?"

"Well…"

"See?"

"But this is like training"

The perfectly shaped eyebrow that rose at his answer had him biting his lip.

"Seduction training?" Babs asked, unimpressed.

"Well yeah… you never know when I might need this in the future, especially if you consider the kind of company Bruce keeps. I figure it's not too early to learn how to use my assets"

The young Miss Gordon sighed out loud and smirked as she concluded, "You're an idiot."

"Oh c'mon!" Dick leaned forward to reach out to his best friend, pleading, "Listen, just… help me with Wally and I'll nip this project in the bud"

Babs still looked unconvinced and he brought out his best kicked dog expression.

"I swear you rich boys have the weirdest hobbies" A sigh, "Fine, I'll help"

ooOoo

It was a cold night with the team out doing surveillance on an old warehouse building by the docks. It was strange how most of these missions involved these kinds of looming structures and quiet passageways.

According to Batman's intel, tonight's shipment included a boxful of new weaponry hidden under some organic produce. It was a secret deal between some high stationed Bialyan military officers and unsurprisingly, Lex Luthor. The League suspected the Light had plans to distribute the weapons to key persons whose identity could only be guessed at this point. What those people would do with said items was unknown, but Dick imagined no good would come of it.

The team was tasked with doing recon work. They were to identify the recipients of the armaments and plant a bug on the system's servers that would allow the League to follow the Light's movements. They were to leave no trace of their presence.

At the onset of the mission, Robin had decided to team-up with Kaldur instead of Wally. He had been met with surprised looks but after explaining that he would have an easier time sneaking into and hacking the mainframes with stealthier and more experienced Kaldur acting as his lookout, and Wally more suited to running surveillance on the huge docking site, the team agreed and formulated a plan from his suggestion. Wally however, had been left pouting.

As he leaned back to the shadows afforded by the cold concrete structures, Robin recalled the conversation he had with Barbara a few days ago.

" _What have you tried exactly?"_

" _All kinds of things Babs"_

" _Well, have you heard of a thing called Fractionation?"_

As soon as Kaldur moved, Robin followed along. Ducking and crouching to keep from sight, he could hear M'gann through their mindlink asking for their statuses. The Martian was answered with various "ok's", except for Supeboy who warned that he could hear the inbounding trucks.

It was time to hack into the servers so they could move onto trailing the deliveries without hassle.

After a brief observation of the smugglers' movements, Robin and Aqualad identified the best possible route to get to the computers located at the far corner inside the main office. The guard schedule and a slight decoy provided by Delta team, which consisted of Artemis and Zatanna, would yield a seven minute time frame to get in and get out undetected, plenty of time for the Dark Knight's and the King of Atlantis' protégés.

As soon as they snuck past the guards through the ever trusty ventilation system, Robin got to work. At this point, computers felt like a very familiar friend and with Aqualad acting as the focused and ever vigilant lookout, Dick allowed his mind to wander as his fingers did the work.

" _Fraction—what?"_

" _Remember Nick Gage? That guy I had a very brief fling with? Anyways, I heard him bragging to his friends that he was trying it out on me, which was why I had ended the relationship like that"_

_The way Barbara had sassily snapped her fingers had surprised a laugh out of him._

" _Anyways, I looked it up and it's a legitimate seduction technique. It's all about pulling a girl in with some flirtatious remark then acting cool and indifferent and doing it all over again. The key thing is to make her think that it's her fault when the guy acts cold. Basically it's a push and pull action but with a twist. Apparently, it has the psychological effect wherein all the insecurity and playing hard to get makes the other person want you more"_

_Dick had chuckled at her explanation and offhandedly commented, "That sounds kinda pathetic Babs"_

_The pointed look Barbara had given him had him grimacing, "Ok, point taken… but isn't that a bit manipulative?"_

" _Well yeah, but if you're willing to do anything to get this whole thing over and done with …"_

_And that was just the thing; he and Bruce were too much alike in some regards. "… alright. Teach me oh master."_

The blue-eyed teen had been stubbornly sticking by the so-called fractionation for the past few days. He wasn't sure if it was proving to be effective but Barbara had assured him to keep at it and because it was Babs who guaranteed it, he was willing to risk it.

"Our timetable just moved up, they're doing the deliveries now. Zatanna and I got one of the trucks covered" Artemis voice suddenly sounded out and was soon followed by M'gann's.

"Same here. They're leaving quickly so Superboy and I have to go now. I'm closing the mindlink, we'll have to use the comms for now"

"Understood. Kid Flash, how are thing progressing on your end?" Aqualad had with a quick press to his comm. The Atlantian peeked through the blinds to their own delivery while Dick kept the quick taps of his fingers on his holocomputer at a steady pace. Two minutes, forty-six seconds had passed and from his estimate, he would be done in a moment.

"Great. Nobody's noticed anything suspicious and my delivery guy is still in the toilet. He's been in there for a while now. My bet is a bad taco night."

"Good. Delta and Beta have two trucks secured and it seems our delivery is getting ready to depart"

Rarely any mission went according to plan which was why it was so surprising when this turned out to be one of them. Dick had finished early but now he had come across a hidden drive that had additional information; design schematics and what looked like an extensive list of possible suppliers. The parts by themselves were harmless and it would be easy to order a huge shipment without attracting suspicion. He caught sight of Wayne Industries listed several times. Robin had to get a copy of this. He just had to.

"Aqualad, come here for a second"

"What is the matter?"

"Nothing, but I just hit jackpot" Dick answered promptly as he hit a key and displayed the treasure load of information. "It's not part of the Batman's mission objectives but this  _is_  critical intel. I'm going to need a few more minutes to copy all this on my wrist-computer though"

"I do not believe we have a minute." the Atlantian said as he returned to his post, peeking through the blinds then his watch. "Kid Flash, are you able to make it to our location without attracting any attention?"

"I could try" Wally offered

"I don't think that's a good idea. KF would have to pass through the same way we went through and that pathway's covered in snow. It's going to be beyond slippery— _pluslippery_ —at the speed Kid Flash has to go to get here in time. If worse comes to pass, you can just leave without me. I'll catch up as soon as I'm done."

"Wait, we can't leave Rob here, if they catch him then—"There was a nervous tone to Wally's voice but Robin stubbornly declared, "They won't"

"Look, I can make it over, just give me a minute…"

"I'm afraid we do not have even a minute to spare" Aqualad said calmly as he considered their options.

"Kid Flash, is your delivery still onsite?"

"Yup, and I don't think it's leaving any time soon"

With a deep breath and firm nod, their team lead finally said, "Change of plans, I will follow this vehicle. Kid Flash will come here in my place and act as Robin's look out. As soon as he finishes, both of you will trail the last delivery. Understood?"

"Affirmative."

"Yupperoo"

With a final nod, the Atlantian climbed back up the ventilation shaft and hurriedly made his way to the truck. Dick hurriedly tapped on his holographic computer, erasing any history of his meddling. He was about to finish when he heard Wally drop down from the vents. He felt the familiar gust of wind as the speedster neared. The redhead asked, "You done?"

The younger replied with a short nod. He didn't spare a glance to his best friend but used the reflective surface of his wrist-watch to observe Wally. The speedster has a slightly miffed look to him from getting ignored. Dick bit his lip to keep from cackling out victoriously. The fractionation had to be working! He had no time to celebrate however, as the brief flashes of light warned him on incomers. Quickly, Robin grabbed Wally's arm, closed the ventilation grill and dragged them both behind some file cabinets. He pulled the redhead firmly to his chest and held his breath in anticipation.

He knew that Wally was looking at him, but he kept his eyes firmly trained on the passing thugs. Soon, the room was bathed once again in darkness and he gently released the redhead.

"Let's go" he said and they silently made their way back to the last truck.

He has to thank Babs when he gets back, because it was pretty apparent that her suggestion was working. While he was off thinking of a way to thank her, he suddenly felt something collide into him. Dick soon realized that Wally had barreled into him to keep him from getting discovered by… a lone lamp.

Dick laughed quietly at the hasty reaction but stopped once he realized he was doing it alone. Wally looked seriously apologetic.

"Sorry, I thought it was—"

"No problem" Dick found himself interrupting, as he shifted slightly upward. It was with the slight movement that the remembered that Wally's suit left nothing to the imagination and the same went with the sense of touch. Dick could feel the planes of muscle surrounding him. He could feel the heat and resounding  _thump thump thump_  of the speedster's heartbeat against his chest.

"You alright?" Wally asked shyly and the look on his face had Dick tensing.

' _Push away! Hello? Boy Wonder? If you want the fractionation to work you have to push him away. Now!'_ he commanded of himself. In his panic, he had knocked his best friend to the side. He had botched the whole subtlety thing but he'd just have to go through with it. Hurriedly, he stood up and missed the expression on Wally's face as he replied, "I'm good"

"Rob…"

Robin raised a hand to his ear and, "Aqualad, we're on our way to the last truck"

And he was gone.

ooOoo

The team headed on back to the mountain. The mission was a success and since it was Batman who said as much, then that meant it was a  _complete_  success.

"You all performed beyond expectations tonight. The additional data that you've retrieved is currently being reviewed back at the Watchtower but from my initial assessment, it will help the League greatly with uncovering the Light's immediate plans."

Despite Batman's steady military delivery, it was still difficult to keep from grinning ear to ear from all the praise. Which was why the team did very little to hide their smiles.

"You all deserve a good night's rest. Good job. Dismissed."

Dick said his goodbyes as he followed Batman. He could almost feel the taste of congratulatory brownies on his mouth until he suddenly felt Wally's hand on his. Even then, a smirk started to come over his face.  _'Finally'_ he thought. He had caught the attention of this best friend at last.

"Robin?" Batman said expectantly.

At the view of the cowl Dick was reminded of everything else he had to do. He had to make plans for his birthday. The high society of Gotham expected the Waynes to celebrate in the most grandiose of manners which meant a weeklong event of partying. He even had some training to do. Despite the night's success, it had become a habit for him to at least do a few acrobatic flips and read through old case files to sharpen his mind and memory. He really had to go and he will once he finds out how exactly it is that Wally was going to react this time.

"Ummm… I'll catch up B."

The Dark Knight nodded and soon left by zeta beam. Dick turned to face his friend and instead of smiling, found himself staring at the downturned corners of Wally's lips. The redhead dragged him off to an empty hallway and looked around. It was weird because the speedster had never been one for privacy; and also because it's futile in a mountain with a half-Kryptonian who can hear the buzzing of a fly and a Martian with telepathy but KF seemed to forget all of that. Wally seemed drained.

"KF, what's up?"

"Listen Rob, I…"and he stopped there

Robin tried to make his best friend look at him but Wally had his head turned to the side. He leaned the same way. Dick knew he still had his mask on but hoped that the action conveyed enough and if it didn't, he hoped the hand he had on the speedster's arm did.

"Hey, hey… what's wrong Wally?" He softened his voice. The redhead never acted this way towards him.

Wally's expression turned frustrated before he let out a long sigh. He grabbed his cowl and pulled it off. Dick was once again attacked by the sight of green eyes, they looked unsure.

"This is going to sound really dumb but…"

And Wally flushed and suddenly Dick felt his heart race in response. Was this finally it?

"Are you avoiding me?"

_What?_

"What?"

"I just… it feels like you've been avoiding me Robin"

"Wally, I'm not, what would make you think so?"

"Lately whenever we hang out you're there but…  _you're not_. I can't explain it. Like, last night when we were supposed to make a blanket fort but then you ended up talking to Artemis about weapon aerodynamics or the other day when you promised to help me with my English homework and you spent all your time on your phone then left early 'cause you had training with the Bat and sure, I mean—you were technically there but not just… stable-like… and I just… I miss you Robin"

Dick's breath caught in his throat but it was for an entirely different reason this time. "Wally—"

"And I know that you're probably really busy with whatever Gotham stuff or civilian secret identity issues you've got going on but I have to know, is this going to be a permanent thing? Will you be there one second and not the next? Or did I maybe-do-something-wrong? If-I-did-thenI'mreallysorryandIjust reallythinkthatmaybeweshouldtalkthisthroughand…"

"Wally" and there must be something in his tone because Wally looked back to the side like he didn't want to hear what Dick had to say and Dick couldn't have that, because he couldn't have his best friend thinking of him as  _flighty_ —even though he has been this past few days. So to fix his own stupid mistake, he raised his other hand on Wally's cheek and gently turned the redhead's face to his. The sight in those green orbs stopped all his denials and instead he settled for an apology closer to the truth.

"I'm sorry if I've been… distant, lately. I've just been really…" He would say 'busy' but Wally deserved better "— _stupid_. I really am sorry KF. You're my best friend Walls never doubt that"

Wally smiled at the apology but it was still too tentative for Dick's liking, and so he added, "If you're up to it, maybe tonight we could have a movie night. You know, just you, me and any of your favorite movies"

And finally the redhead beamed at him. There was a rushed " _amma go get the popcorn ready"_  before Wally zipped through Mount Justice. Dick laughed softly at his best friend's antics and lowered his hands. He followed after Wally. His fingers rubbing against each other in a subconscious effort to preserve the heat left from the speedster's skin.

ooOoo

Once the team find out about the whole movie marathon idea, they head on over to the common rooms uninvited. Dick admittedly was a little bit disappointed but Wally's easy shrug mollified him. In defiance however, both boys claimed the best positioned couch. Wally was given grumpy comments by Artemis and some exasperated sighs by the others. Dick on the other hand was given a raised eyebrow and a quick look down before his teammates shrugged on to their own seats.

The first movie played and Dick found himself thinking instead of watching. If the price of the whole "fractionation" seduction technique was having his best friend insecure of him, then he'd rather find another way to grab the speedster's attention.

Babs had told him that it would probably make the speedster frustrated and slightly possessive but knowing that he had caused such doubt had hurt far more than he thought it would. He would just have to try a different method and that meant reaching out blindly for straws. He was back to square one and now that he thought about it, subtlety really wasn't the speedster's thing. He had to go for more straightforward measures to get the job done without hurting Wally and he would have to get It over with as soon as possible so everything could go back to normal.

Dick nonchalantly reached for the popcorn bowl placed between them and propped his long legs as a replacement. The Boy Wonder took a deep breath and a quick bite before turning back to the television screen. His foot slowly inched along KF's mutually stretched legs. Up and down it went.

He spared a glance at the redhead and found him so engrossed at the movie. Robin wanted to groan into the popcorn bowl but settled for inching his foot even higher on Wally's thigh. He might not have thought this through however, considering that he suddenly felt hotter and has to swallow a lump in his throat. At the corner of his eye, he saw Wally raise an eyebrow at him before shrugging and smiling like a doofus. The redhead sat his legs on the floor and placed Dick's feet on his lap then ran his fingers in circles against the pad of them.

What is up with Kid Flash and massages?

Hell, what was up with the Boy Wonder and the sudden sense of thrill shooting up his spine?

Suddenly, the redhead ran his hand smoothly under Robin's knee and Dick jerked, letting out an undignified squawk.

The surprised looks thrown at him, has him blushing.

"Uhh… sorry about that"

Dick noticed that Wally was biting his lip to keep from laughing out like the evil maniac that he was. He narrowed his eyes and folded his legs back towards his own body. The black-haired teen flung a piece of popcorn at the redhead and in complete Wally-fashion, his best friend turned at the right moment to catch the piece with his mouth. He gave the Boy Wonder a sunny smile and Dick narrowed his eyes in return, his glare reaching bat-levels of intensity. The speedster just shook his head and chuckled before turning back to the movie.

It was at four am in the morning that Dick eventually started to feel a little bit sleepy and careless as he found himself disregarding boundaries. His feet returned entangled once more with Wally's long limbs. He wasn't planning on anything though.

Earlier, the movie choice was lightheartedly argued upon. After the first movie of  _"Tangled"_ , the team really made a mistake on teaching M'gann to use her puppy dog face to get what she wanted and  _"Avengers: Age of Ultron"_  which resorted in a slightly worried Connor— _does the League have preventive measures against that kind of situation?_ —the team had finally agreed to watch Wally's choice after Wally's initial suggestion of  _"Cosmos"_  was rejected.

" _But guys, science!"_

 _Artemis had fixed the redhead with a withering glare as she said, "No can do firecrotch, we agreed on a_ movie _marathon, and while I'm sure all that science is titillating for your dork boner—" Dick had choked on his drink "—it's going to send the rest of us to lalaland, especially at this hour"_

" _You are such a simpleton Artie. And I do not have a dork boner! Oooh! How about this then?"_

_Artemis and Zatanna had groaned as Wally had shown his movie. M'gann had looked interested but tired and Superboy was dozing off._

_In an effort to help out his best friend, Dick had argued "It_ is _a movie""_

" _Fine fine, Fire away flamecrotch!."_

Which had resulted in the most of team dozing away.

Wally was staring wide eyed at the television screen. His eyes were firmly planted forward with his popcorn forgotten in Dick's clutches. The speedster's hands however kept absentmindedly massaging Dick's admittedly sore feet.

It would have been so easy to chuck popcorn at the redhead's face but Dick found himself just as riveted by the sight before him. A few minutes into the movie, once everyone drifted off one by one, Dick had noticed the redhead monologuing along. As a prankster, he should've made a joke or filmed the entire thing but he just couldn't take his eyes off of Wally.

"Some… some celestial event… no, no words…no words to describe. Poetry. They should've sent a poet…" Wally lips moved, synchronized with the movie.

Dick was absolutely certain that Wally was enough of a geek to know the dialogue of one of his favorites and while Dick would never admit it, he too knew the words simply because of Wally.

' _Dork'_ he thought fondly as he watched the colors play across freckled skin. Wally's green eyes were bright and they clearly showed the shifting colors of the galaxy contained on the television screen. Robin's heart tendered at the sight of him and soon he found himself echoing along with his best friend, his mouth moving of its own volition.

" _So beautiful, I had no idea… no idea"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A/N: Hey guys, I've updated! wooohooo! I'm so sorry for going AWOL but I had to migrate and settle and rush all my schoolwork and blah blah blah... I'd rant more but the bottomline is that I might have a delay in updating due to the change in living conditions ._. (can't focus with all these people and without my lovely computer) but I will update! Especially since one of my IRL friends will nag me to no end if I don't XD_
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> _In fact, the next chapter will probably be a double update with one as a filler chapter in Wally's point of view, kinda...not really XD spoilers_
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> _Now, regarding my utter lack of response/replies to all your lovely comments and/or questions. I try to refrain from replying so that I have an added incentive to update faster. I do read them all and appreciate them. If I'm having a bad day I go through them and they definitely help so keep them coming :D oh and to that anon who commented, I accept and love all comments, even guest comments ;D -wink wink nudge nudge-_
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> _Regarding the chapter in general, I did, in fact, google seduction techniques (cause I know absolutely nothing about them XD) and yes, that was equal parts pathetic and funny (as my friends assure me). Fractionation is an actual thing and I just scraped the surface of it because I eventually got bored but if you want to know more, there are youtube videos and articles about it online._
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> _And in this story, no one knows Dick's secret identity. Not Babs, or Wally or even Zatanna-how the two managed to date without sharing that information requires a bit of plot-twisty-secret-imagining-whatever... I'm just gonna imply that that might be the reason why the eventually broke up. XD_
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> _Also, to the first person who can identify the movie referenced here without googling it up, I shall award you with internet brownie points... orrrr maybe a badly drawn Batman with brownies XD see ya guys at the next update._
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> _Reviews, faves, follows (hell, even grammatical corrections) make me happy :D_


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